Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement (114th Congress)

House Judiciary Committee Approves Bill to Reform Asylum Laws

March 18, 2015

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee today approved by a vote of 21-12 the Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act (H.R. 1153). This bill, authored by Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), strengthens asylum standards to prevent the Obama Administration’s rubberstamping of fraudulent claims, effectively ends “catch and release,” and prevents American taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for unlawful immigrants’ lawyers.

Goodlatte, Smith, Cornyn, Cruz File Brief Supporting Halt of President’s Unilateral Immigration Actions

March 18, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) – in conjunction with the American Center for Law and Justice – today filed an amicus brief with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the federal district court’s decision to halt President Obama’s executive overreach on immigration in Texas vs. the United States.

Goodlatte, Gowdy, Labrador Applaud Action to Keep Seasonal Guestworker Program Operating

March 17, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), and Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Vice Chairman Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) today applauded the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor’s (DOL) decision to continue processing H-2B applications while they finalize interim regulations for the seasonal guestworker program.

House Judiciary Committee Approves Bill to Protect Children Crossing the Border Alone

March 4, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee today approved by a vote of 17-13 the Protection of Children Act (H.R. 1149), a bill to ensure that unaccompanied alien minors (UAMs) who make the dangerous journey to the United States are safely returned home. For those who stay with a sponsor in the United States while awaiting their immigration hearing, the bill provides for greater transparency and safety of these minors to ensure they are not inadvertently delivered into the hands of criminals or abusers.

House Judiciary Committee Passes First Immigration Enforcement Bill

March 3, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee today approved by a vote of 20-13 the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 1147). This bill, authored by Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) preserves jobs for legal workers by requiring U.S. employers to check the work eligibility of all future hires through the E-Verify system. The Legal Workforce Act is supported by Numbers USA, the U.S.

House Judiciary Committee Unveils Bills to Strengthen Enforcement and Integrity of Immigration Laws

February 27, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and several House Republicans have unveiled four pieces of legislation to strengthen the interior enforcement of our immigration laws, remove the ability of the President to unilaterally shut down immigration enforcement, ensure jobs are preserved for legal workers, reform the United States’ asylum laws, and make sure unaccompanied alien minors who make the dangerous trek to the United States are safely returned home. These four bills will be marked up by the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, March 3 and Wednesday, March 4, 2015.

Member Spotlight: Rep. John Ratcliffe

February 23, 2015

Press Release

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte welcomed five new Republican members to the House Judiciary Committee for the 114th Congress. We will profile each new member in a five-part series.

Biography

John Ratcliffe is the Congressman representing the Fourth District of Texas. He is a limited government conservative with a well-established record of defending the Constitution and balancing budgets without raising taxes.

House Judiciary Committee to Hold Hearing on Unconstitutionality of President Obama’s Executive Overreach on Immigration

February 18, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 10:00 a.m., the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the unconstitutionality of President Obama’s executive overreach on immigration.

Goodlatte Applauds Federal Judge’s Decision to Block President Obama’s Executive Overreach on Immigration

February 17, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the statement below after Judge Andrew Hanen of the U.S. District Court in Brownsville, Texas temporarily blocked President Obama’s unilateral immigration actions: “President Obama’s executive overreach on immigration poses a clear and present danger to our Constitution and I am pleased that the President’s actions have been temporarily halted so that the states’ lawsuit can move forward. By acting unilaterally to rewrite our nation’s immigration laws, President Obama has disregarded the will of the American people and violated the Constitution.

Goodlatte: Change to Unilateral Immigration Program Provides Pathway to Citizenship

February 13, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today sent a letter to Department of Homeland of Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson expressing concern about the startling new changes made to the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that could place potentially hundreds of thousands of unlawful immigrants on a pathway to citizenship.

Immigration and Citizenship

Recent Activity: